IN YOUR OPINION

Letters to the Editor for Jan. 12, 2013

Published: Saturday, January 12, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 8:06 p.m.

Middle ground

I agree that everyone should have the right to have guns lawfully. What I do not agree with is that they should be able to get assault rifles.

There is no reason why anyone, except the military, needs to carry an assault rifle. As a military veteran, I defended your right to carry a gun, but somewhere along the line we lost the reasoning on what you need to carry. A normal citizen has no business having an assault rifle of any kind.

Somewhere this madness has to stop. No, do not ban all weapons, but don't make available weapons of such that they are not needed by anyone but the military or police just because you can. We can all reach a middle ground if we try, instead of always fighting.

Make this a better year and let's all stop fighting each other.

Olga Cross

Silver Springs

Editor's note: The following letter is being republished due to initial errors in its content

Bad investment

Now wait a minute, let's see if I got this right. A member of Congress gets $789 a month for a car lease ($9,468 annually); free postage worth an average of $104,760; pay in excess of $174,000 annually; and $1.7 million annually to operate their offices (See Star-Banner, Jan. 2, 2013).

Multiply that times 100 senators and over 435 house members and I get $1,063,701,980 ANNUALLY for a bunch of people who passed less than 250 bills the ENTIRE year. That works out to about $4.25 million per bill, and some of those were naming post offices, bridges, etc.

To add insult to injury, those are conservative figures and don't count travel, free health care and an outrageous retirement plan. Is it any wonder that this country is in such financial difficulties when people work so hard to support such a lifestyle for a “do nothing” Congress?

It seems to me that any law passed by Congress should apply to them also — that includes Social Security and health care — and if “term limits” are good for the president and others, they should also apply to Congress.

In my opinion, we should vote them all out and start from scratch; we certainly can't do any worse. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see some common folk with some “good old common sense” running the government?

Dr. Michael L. Bogdue

Ocala

No guns allowed

There are an estimated 270 million privately owned guns in this country. In the wake of recent attacks with guns, liberal politicians again want to enact stricter gun laws, have registration of gun owners, etc. Some politicians have shortsighted ideas or are deliberately trying to eliminate gun ownership. They are going about this the wrong way.

Disarming innocent people does not defend innocent people. There are approximately 312 million people in the U.S. Since an apparent majority own guns, it would be simpler and cheaper to keep track of those who don't have guns.

We need a law requiring all non-gun households to have a sign on their door stating “THERE ARE NO GUNS IN THIS HOUSE.” This would give weapon haters a wonderful opportunity to display to the world that they are caring people who would never injure someone with a firearm. As an added bonus, perpetrators will know which home is not defended from their evil deeds and know they won't get shot in the process of robbery or rape by going there. This might lower government-funded medical and funeral costs for criminals, thus reducing the expense of Obamacare.

I am basically opposed to more government programs, but if this law was properly implemented, I and other gun owners would happily chip in a few bucks toward its cost and perhaps the NRA could also have a fundraiser for this purpose.

If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

Harold Imgrund

Oak Run

Help the children

We can help our kids. Our kids take after us.

I've watched some very bad parents. A parent doesn't have more kids than they can care for. If you have two kids and are on government assistance, why have another one you can't support?

A real parent has rules. A parent talks to their child. A parent is the guide to the child's future. We can solve so many issues by looking at families.

You should not be able to get more food stamps if you have more kids once you are enrolled. If we stop their government assistance, they won't keep having kids. Stop their cash assistance.

There is no need to have this problem, but if we don't see it it will never end. Let us help our children. They are the future!

Jamie Walsh

Ocala

The battle rages on

The battle for freedom of religion and to govern ourselves rages on. It was in 1776 that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence to form a more perfect union and with the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.

Not an easy task. The 1860s saw the Constitution and liberty almost lost. Abraham Lincoln noted, “... there is something in back of the Constitution. The wisdom of the human heart ... the principle of Liberty for all.”

Congratulations to Congressman John Boehner on his January 2013 re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives (113th Congress) by a landslide 220 votes. We firmly rededicate ourselves to the principle of free self-government and stand strong against tyranny.

<p><b>Middle ground</b></p><p>I agree that everyone should have the right to have guns lawfully. What I do not agree with is that they should be able to get assault rifles.</p><p>There is no reason why anyone, except the military, needs to carry an assault rifle. As a military veteran, I defended your right to carry a gun, but somewhere along the line we lost the reasoning on what you need to carry. A normal citizen has no business having an assault rifle of any kind.</p><p>Somewhere this madness has to stop. No, do not ban all weapons, but don't make available weapons of such that they are not needed by anyone but the military or police just because you can. We can all reach a middle ground if we try, instead of always fighting.</p><p>Make this a better year and let's all stop fighting each other.</p><p><i>Olga Cross</p><p>Silver Springs</i></p><p><i>Editor's note: The following letter is being republished due to initial errors in its content</i></p><p><b>Bad investment</b></p><p>Now wait a minute, let's see if I got this right. A member of Congress gets $789 a month for a car lease ($9,468 annually); free postage worth an average of $104,760; pay in excess of $174,000 annually; and $1.7 million annually to operate their offices (See Star-Banner, Jan. 2, 2013).</p><p>Multiply that times 100 senators and over 435 house members and I get $1,063,701,980 ANNUALLY for a bunch of people who passed less than 250 bills the ENTIRE year. That works out to about $4.25 million per bill, and some of those were naming post offices, bridges, etc.</p><p>To add insult to injury, those are conservative figures and don't count travel, free health care and an outrageous retirement plan. Is it any wonder that this country is in such financial difficulties when people work so hard to support such a lifestyle for a “do nothing” Congress?</p><p>It seems to me that any law passed by Congress should apply to them also — that includes Social Security and health care — and if “term limits” are good for the president and others, they should also apply to Congress.</p><p>In my opinion, we should vote them all out and start from scratch; we certainly can't do any worse. Wouldn't it be refreshing to see some common folk with some “good old common sense” running the government?</p><p><i>Dr. Michael L. Bogdue</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p><b>No guns allowed</b></p><p>There are an estimated 270 million privately owned guns in this country. In the wake of recent attacks with guns, liberal politicians again want to enact stricter gun laws, have registration of gun owners, etc. Some politicians have shortsighted ideas or are deliberately trying to eliminate gun ownership. They are going about this the wrong way.</p><p>Disarming innocent people does not defend innocent people. There are approximately 312 million people in the U.S. Since an apparent majority own guns, it would be simpler and cheaper to keep track of those who don't have guns.</p><p>We need a law requiring all non-gun households to have a sign on their door stating “THERE ARE NO GUNS IN THIS HOUSE.” This would give weapon haters a wonderful opportunity to display to the world that they are caring people who would never injure someone with a firearm. As an added bonus, perpetrators will know which home is not defended from their evil deeds and know they won't get shot in the process of robbery or rape by going there. This might lower government-funded medical and funeral costs for criminals, thus reducing the expense of Obamacare.</p><p>I am basically opposed to more government programs, but if this law was properly implemented, I and other gun owners would happily chip in a few bucks toward its cost and perhaps the NRA could also have a fundraiser for this purpose.</p><p>If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.</p><p><i>Harold Imgrund</p><p>Oak Run</i></p><p><b>Help the children</b></p><p>We can help our kids. Our kids take after us.</p><p>I've watched some very bad parents. A parent doesn't have more kids than they can care for. If you have two kids and are on government assistance, why have another one you can't support?</p><p>A real parent has rules. A parent talks to their child. A parent is the guide to the child's future. We can solve so many issues by looking at families.</p><p>You should not be able to get more food stamps if you have more kids once you are enrolled. If we stop their government assistance, they won't keep having kids. Stop their cash assistance.</p><p>There is no need to have this problem, but if we don't see it it will never end. Let us help our children. They are the future!</p><p><i>Jamie Walsh</p><p>Ocala</i></p><p><b>The battle rages on</b></p><p>The battle for freedom of religion and to govern ourselves rages on. It was in 1776 that the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence to form a more perfect union and with the blessing of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.</p><p>Not an easy task. The 1860s saw the Constitution and liberty almost lost. Abraham Lincoln noted, “... there is something in back of the Constitution. The wisdom of the human heart ... the principle of Liberty for all.”</p><p>Congratulations to Congressman John Boehner on his January 2013 re-election as speaker of the House of Representatives (113th Congress) by a landslide 220 votes. We firmly rededicate ourselves to the principle of free self-government and stand strong against tyranny.</p><p><i>Ruthie Kelly</p><p>The Villages</i></p>